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Hymn to the Lord

Dakshinamurti

A Commentary by

Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao

Verse 3

यस्यैव स्फुरणं सदात्मकमसत्कल्पार्थकं भासते
साक्षात्तत्त्वमसीति वेदवचसा यो बोधयत्याश्रितान् ।
यत्साक्षात्करणाद्भवेन्न पुनरावृत्तिर्भवाम्भोनिधौ
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥3॥

Non-dual Consciousness is the cause for the effect which is this entire world. The operating principle is that the attributes of a cause pervade the effect. Hence, an effect cannot be different from the cause. So the world is not different from Consciousness.

The “I AM” Awareness is the Self, which is Pure Undifferentiated Consciousness. The Vedantic term for that spark of Awareness is sphuraNa. Existence is sat (Being) and the Awareness of Existence, the feeling that “I AM,” is cit. There can be no sat without cit, and no cit without sat. Unless I exist, I cannot be aware that “I Am”. Unless I am Aware, I cannot exist. They are in essence One. While sat IS, cit is aware of It. That means, sat is cit, and cit is sat. Hence, Shankar uses a single phrase sadAtmakam (Existence-Consciousness) to emphasize the Oneness of the two aspects of Consciousness.

To what does this I AM Awareness (sadAtmakam, Existence-Consciousness), belong? It belongs to that which can cognize its own existence. Only Atma (sentience), not anAtma (insentience), can cognize existence. Atma is Self-Aware.

How can we say that the world is anAtma, that it is not Self-aware? Only a conscious being can cognize the existence of the world. The world itself cannot proclaim its existence. It is only Awareness (through the instrument called mind) that cognizes everything, the external world of objects and the internal world of thoughts and feelings. Everything that is “known” to Consciousness is an “object” to Consciousness. Everything that is an object to Consciousness is anAtma

It is only the “I AM” Awareness that is real because it is present at all times everywhere. If It is present at some times and absent at other times, who is to cognize its absence? Cognition is possible only to Consciousness. One cannot deny one’s own existence. The very fact that I think and am aware of my thoughts means I exist Hence, the “I AM” Awareness, which is ever present, is the only Reality.

The world is anAtma. It has no cognition or awareness of its own existence. It is not visible to itself, but it is visible to conscious beings like us. Anything that is perceived is not the Self. Self is formless Consciousness. It cannot be perceived like an object. Can Awareness be aware of Itself? Just like two lamps cannot illuminate each other, Consciousness cannot be aware of Itself because It is Awareness itself! The “I AM” Awareness is not visible. If it is visible, it is anAtma, not Atma. Our body, life-force, mind, and the world are all visible to us. Hence, they are anAtma (not-Self).

anAtma is unreal because it has no existence of its own. We don’t need anyone or anything to validate our own existence. Consciousness is our intrinsic nature. Consciousness cognizes all objects. We say the world exists because we are aware first of our own existence, and then of the existence of the world.

Cause comes first, followed by the effect. Since the I-Am Awareness is the source or cause for this entire world, the attributes of the cause must appear in the effect. Existence (satta) and Consciousness (sphuraNa) are the attributes of the Self. When our Awareness (sphuraNa) expands and permeates the moving and unmoving objects (asat kalpArtagam bhasate) of the world, we became aware of their existence. If our Awareness did no expand to them, they would not appear to us. Strictly speaking, the world is not even an appearance! It is our own Consciousness appearing as the mind, sense organs, names and forms.

Hence the world does not exist on its own. The “Existence” of the Self is the “Existence” of the world. It has no definite form. Just like a pot that does not exist as a pot, but exists as clay, this world exists as Existence-Consciousness. Once we understand this, we will realize that Self (Consciousness) alone IS, without another.

Once we have a firm conviction that the Self alone Is, the external world will lose its separate identity. Along with the world, the upAdhi-s or adjuncts, such as the body, mind, thoughts, and life force, also will lose their separateness. It is these upAdhi-s that perpetuate the feeling of a separate self (jIva). When Consciousness expands and these adjuncts lose their separate existence, the feeling of a separate self also drops. Just like there can be no two spaces, there can be no two Consciousnesses. When there are no limiting adjuncts, the individual Consciousness, as though, soars and becomes One with the Universal Consciousness. The separate self merges with Ishwara, the Universal Self.

Although the jIva is Ishwara Itself, because of our total identification with the body-mind organism, we consider ourselves as separate selves (jIva Atma). We limit our Consciousness to our body-mind. The moment we realize that these body-mind adjuncts (upAdhi-s) are not separate from the Infinite Consciousness, the right Knowledge of the Self rises. When that Knowledge arises, the upAdhi-s lose their separateness. Hence, there is no longer any difference between the individual self and the Universal Self. Together, they are experienced as the One Undifferentiated Supreme Consciousness.

Consciousness is immediate and ever present. Since It is our innermost reality, it is called prathyak Atma. Because we wrongly attribute Consciousness to our limited body-mind, we imagine that there is another larger, superior entity called Ishwara somewhere. This misconception disappears soon as we stop identifying with the body-mind.

Although Self is the Supreme Consciousness, we do not experience It as such because of beginning-less ignorance. As seekers, our effort is only in getting rid of ignorance. The moment we attain Knowledge, we automatically experience our true nature as the Supreme Consciousness. As though a veil has been lifted, the all-pervasive Supreme Consciousness reveals Itself to us. The triad - the individual, the world, and the Creator, that once appeared as separate entities, now dissolve and are experienced as the One Infinite Consciousness. The cycle of birth and death gets broken. We no longer return to samsAra because there is no longer a separate world to return to! When the jIva and the jagat cease to exist as separate entities and everything merges into Pure Consciousness, we experience the great truth declared by the Upanishad (mahAvAkya) - tat twam asi (You are That).

The mahAvAkya, tat twam asi, is an instructional statement. The mahAvAkya, aham brahmAsmi is an experiential statement. An instruction precedes an experience. Only a True teacher (sadguru) can provide such an instruction. Such a teacher is no other than the Supreme Consciousness Itself, which is revered in the form of the Lord Dakshinamurti. He is the Guru of all gurus. Sitting under the banyan tree surrounded by great sages like Vashista, his hand folded in a cinmudra, the Lord is the ultimate instructor of tat twam asi. This instruction is the basis of the teacher-disciple tradition. Guru is parabrahma, Supreme Consciousness. He who is established in Pure Consciousness and revered as a teacher is brahman, the Supreme Consciousness Itself.